Method for preparing metal catalyst and electrode

ABSTRACT

A method for preparing a metal catalyst includes a proton conductive material coating layer formed on the surface of a conductive material. Also, an electrode may be prepared using the metal catalyst. The method for preparing the metal catalyst comprises mixing the conductive catalyst material, the proton conductive material, and a first solvent, casting the mixture onto a supporting layer and drying the mixture to form a conductive catalyst containing film. The method further comprises separating the conductive catalyst containing film from the supporting layer and pulverizing the conductive catalyst containing film to obtain the metal catalyst. The method for preparing the electrode comprises mixing the metal catalyst with a hydrophobic binder and a second solvent, coating the mixture on an electrode support, and drying it.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/282,609, filed on Nov. 21, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,039,414, andclaims the benefit of and priority from Korean Patent Application No.10-2004-0095537, filed Nov. 20, 2004 which are both hereby incorporatedby reference for all purpose as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a metal catalyst and a fuel cell usingan electrode that includes the catalyst. In particular, a metal catalysthas an improved catalytic efficiency in an electrochemical reaction andhas a structure that promotes the permeation of gaseous reactants. Afuel cell that uses an electrode that includes the catalyst has improvedefficiency.

2. Description of the Background

Fuel cells are emerging as a future source of clean energy that canreplace fossil fuels.

The fuel cell is a power generating system that produces direct currentby an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. A fuel cellincludes a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) that has an electrolyteinterposed between an anode and a cathode, and flow field plates fortransferring gases. The electrodes include catalyst layers that areformed on supporting layers made of carbon paper or carbon cloth.However, it is difficult for gaseous reactants to reach the catalysts inthe catalyst layer, and protons produced by the electrochemical reactiondo not move rapidly. Thus catalysts have not been used effectively inelectrodes.

The cathode and the anode are prepared by casting a slurry including acatalyst and an ionomer on a gas diffusion layer as a supporting layer,and drying the resultant to form a catalyst layer.

When the catalyst layer of an electrode is prepared in this way, theionomer is doped in the catalyst or is simply mixed with the catalyst,which degrades the dispersion properties of the catalyst and causesagglomeration of the catalyst and the ionomer in the catalyst layer. Asa result, an increase in the amount of unreacted catalyst due tosecondary pores and non-uniform ionomers causes a reduction of catalystutilization, a lack of fuel supply paths, and a reduction of thepermeability of fuel, thereby significantly reducing the performance ofthe fuel cell. In addition, it is difficult to form and control athree-phase interface for an electrochemical reaction, and the catalyticefficiency is reduced.

FIG. 1B illustrates the structure of a conventional metal catalyst.

Referring to FIG. 1B, in a conventional metal catalyst 10, Pt particles13 are present on the surface of the carbon 11, and PBI 12 is close tothe carbon 11. In this structure, the dispersion properties of PBI andPt/C deteriorate, and it is difficult to obtain a three-phase interfacefor an electrochemical reaction, and thus the catalytic efficiency isreduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a metal catalyst that exhibits animproved catalytic efficiency by having a three-phase interfacialstructure that can facilitate contact between gaseous reactants and thecatalyst. This allows it to rapidly transfer protons produced by anelectrochemical reaction between the gaseous reactants.

The present invention also provides a method for preparing the catalyst,a method for preparing an electrode with improved efficiency byincluding a catalyst layer using the metal catalyst, and a fuel cellusing the electrode prepared according to the method.

Additional features of the invention will be set forth in thedescription which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The present invention discloses a method for preparing a metal catalystincluding a conductive catalyst material and a proton conductivematerial coating layer formed on the surface of the conductive material.The method comprises mixing the conductive catalyst material, theconductive catalyst material, and a first solvent and casting theobtained mixture onto a supporting layer. The mixture is dried to form aconductive catalyst containing film and the conductive catalystcontaining film is separated from the supporting layer and pulverized.

The present invention also discloses a method for preparing an electrodecomprising mixing a metal catalyst including a conductive catalystmaterial and a proton conductive material coating layer formed on thesurface of the conductive catalyst material with a hydrophobic binderand a second solvent, to obtain a catalyst layer forming composition.The catalyst layer forming composition is coated on an electrode supportand dried.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are schematic diagrams of the structures of a metalcatalyst of the present invention and a conventional metal catalyst,respectively.

FIG. 2 illustrates the process of preparing an electrode according tothe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between current and voltage(I-V) of electrodes in fuel cells prepared according to Example 5,Example 6, Example 7, and Example 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

A metal catalyst of the present invention includes a conductive catalystmaterial and a proton conductive material coating layer formed on theconductive catalyst material. This configuration allows the catalyst toeasily form and control a three-phase interface for an electrochemicalreaction, facilitate the contact between gaseous reactants and thecatalyst through a thin coating layer of a proton conductive materialformed on catalyst particles, and effectively transfer protons generatedin the electrochemical reaction. When an electrode is formed using thecatalyst, an ideal three-phase interfacial electrode structure may beformed, and a fuel cell that includes the electrode may have improvedperformance, such as high efficiency.

FIG. 2 illustrates the process of preparing the metal catalyst and anelectrode using the metal catalyst.

As shown in FIG. 2, a method for preparing the metal catalyst of thepresent invention includes doping the proton conductive material with anacid and mixing it with a first solvent and a conductive catalystmaterial. This coats the proton conductive material onto the surface ofthe conductive catalyst material.

Then, the above mixture is cast onto a supporting layer and dried. Theresulting coating may be a continuous or a discontinuous film. Thedrying temperature is in the range of about 80° C. to about 120° C. Theresulting coating is separated from the supporting layer to obtain aconductive catalyst containing film. The conductive catalyst containingfilm is pulverized and sieved to obtain a metal catalyst with a specificparticle size. The particle size is preferably in the range of about 50μm to about 70 μm.

The proton conductive material may be an ionomer including, but notlimited to polybenzimidazole (PBI), polyetherketone, polyetherimide,polysulfone, perfluorosulfonic acid, and the above ionomers doped withan acid.

In the metal catalyst of the present invention, the concentration of theproton conductive material is preferably about 1 wt % to about 50 wt %,in particular, about 3 wt % to about 10 wt %, based on the total weightof the conductive catalyst material. When the concentration of theproton conductive material is less than about 1 wt %, the efficiency ofthe catalyst is reduced due to an inability to form a three-phaseinterface in the catalyst layer. When the concentration of the protonconductive material is greater than about 50 wt %, the diffusion ofgaseous reactants to the catalyst is slowed by the thick coating of theproton conductive material on the electrical conductive catalyst.

The acid may include, but is not limited to phosphoric acid.

Examples of the conductive catalyst material may include Pt, Fe, Co, Ni,Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Cu, Ag, Au, Sn, Ti, Cr, mixtures thereof, alloysthereof, and a carbon material having these elements supported thereon,for example.

The supporting layer may include, but is not limited to a Teflon® sheet,a Mylar® film, a glass substrate, a polyethylene terephthalate sheet.

The first solvent disperses or dissolves the conductive catalystmaterial and the ionomer. Examples of the first solvent may include, butare not limited to N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), dimethylacetamide (DMAc),dimethylformamide (DMF), and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), etc. Theconcentration of the first solvent may be about 900 wt % to about 4000wt % based on the weight of the ionomer. When the concentration of thefirst solvent is less than about 900 wt %, the proton conductivematerial is not sufficiently dissolved and the conductive catalystmaterial is not uniformly dispersed. When the concentration of the firstsolvent is greater than about 4000 wt % it takes too long to dry.

After the above process, the metal catalyst may be doped with an acid tofurther enhance the metal catalyst's proton conductivity. Phosphoricacid or similar acids may be used for this. The acid concentration maybe about 200 mol % to about 1000 mol %, and preferably about 200 mol %to about 750 mol %, based on 100 moles of the proton conductingmaterial.

The structure of the metal catalyst of the present invention isdescribed with reference to FIG. 1A. As shown in FIG. 1A, a carbonsupported Pt (Pt/C) catalyst is used as the conductive catalyst materialand polybenzimidazole (PBI) is used as a proton conductive material.

In a metal catalyst 10, carbon 11 is coated with PBI 12, and Ptparticles 13 are present on the surface of the carbon 11. Although it isnot shown in FIG. 1A, Pt particles 13 may also be thinly coated withporous PBI.

Although it is not shown in FIG. 1A, when metal catalyst particlescoated with PBI are doped with phosphoric acid, H₃PO₄ is bound to an N—Hsite of PBI through a hydrogen bond, to form a proton transfer path. Thecarbon 11 acts as an electron transfer path, and protons are transferredby phosphoric acid.

In order to form an electrode, the metal catalyst is then mixed with ahydrophobic binder and a second solvent, as shown in FIG. 2. The mixtureis then coated onto an electrode supporting layer and dried. The dryingtemperature of the coating is in the range of about 60° C. to about 150°C. When the drying temperature is out of the above range, the coating isnot dried well and the carbon carrier is oxidized, which is notpreferable.

The hydrophobic binder may include, but is not limited topolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP).The concentration of the hydrophobic binder may be about 1 wt % to about40 wt % based on the total weight of the metal catalyst. When theconcentration of the hydrophobic binder is out of the above range,satisfactory proton conductivity and electrical conductivity of theelectrode can not be obtained.

The second solvent is selected based on the hydrophobic binder, and isnot limited as long as it does not dissolve the proton conductivematerial and can dissolve or disperse the hydrophobic binder. The secondsolvent may include a fluorine-based organic solvent, for example. Theconcentration of the second solvent is about 500 wt % to about 10,000 wt% based on the total weight of the metal catalyst.

The electrode supporting layer may include, but is not limited to carbonpaper or carbon cloth.

The electrode facilitates the formation of a three-phase interface foran electrochemical reaction, improves the contact between the gaseousreactants and the catalyst through the thin coating layer on thecatalyst, and effectively transfers protons produced by theelectrochemical reaction.

The structure of the metal catalyst of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1A. As shown in FIG. 1A, a carbonsupported Pt (Pt/C) catalyst is used as the conductive catalyst materialand polybenzimidazole (PBI) is used as a proton conductive material.

In a metal catalyst 10, carbon 11 is coated with PBI 12, and Ptparticles 13 are present on the surface of the carbon 11. Although it isnot shown in FIG. 1A, Pt particles 13 may also be thinly coated withporous PBI.

Although it is not shown in FIG. 1A, when metal catalyst particlescoated with PBI are doped with phosphoric acid, H₃PO₄ is bound to an N—Hsite of PBI through a hydrogen bond, to form a proton transfer path. Thecarbon 11 acts as an electron transfer path, and protons are transferredby phosphoric acid.

A fuel cell of the present invention will now be described in detail.

The fuel cell of the present invention includes a cathode, an anode, andan electrolyte membrane interposed between the cathode and the anode. Atleast one of the cathode and the anode includes the supported catalystof the present invention, as described above.

The fuel cell of the present invention may be embodied as a phosphoricacid fuel cell (PAFC), a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), ora direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), for example. The structure andpreparation of these fuel cells are not limited, and since they arespecifically described in a variety of sources, they will not bedescribed here.

The present invention will be described in greater detail with referenceto the following examples. The following examples are for illustrativepurposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

1.0 g of Pt/C, 0.05 g of PBI and 1.45 mL of NMP were mixed and stirredat 250 rpm at room temperature for about 3 hours. The mixture was castonto a Teflon® (Dupont) sheet and dried in vacuum at 120° C. for 1 hour.The resulting dried mixture was pulverized and sieved to obtain PBIcoated Pt/C with a particle size of about 50 μm to about 70 μm.

0.032 g of phosphoric acid (200 mol % of PA with respect to 100 mole ofPBI) was added to the PBI coated Pt/C to increase the PBI's protonconductivity. Then, the doped catalyst was mixed with Cytop® (JapanAsahi Glass) and a solvent and the mixture was stirred at roomtemperature for about 3 hours to obtain a catalyst layer formingcomposition in a slurry form.

The slurry was coated onto carbon paper using an applicator with a gapof about 120 μm, and then dried at 80° C. for 3 hours and 120° C. for 1hour, to form an electrode.

EXAMPLE 2

An electrode was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, exceptthat 0.064 g of phosphoric acid (400 mol % of PA with respect to 100mole of PBI) was used.

EXAMPLE 3

An electrode was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, exceptthat 0.160 g of phosphoric acid (1000 mol % of PA with respect to 100mole of PBI) was used.

EXAMPLE 4

An electrode was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, exceptthat 0.352 g of phosphoric acid (2200 mol % of PA with respect to 100mole of PBI) was used.

EXAMPLE 5

A fuel cell was prepared using an electrode comprising the metalcatalyst of Example 1 and a PBI electrolyte membrane. Hydrogen and airwere used as a fuel and an oxidant, respectively.

EXAMPLE 6, EXAMPLE 7, AND EXAMPLE 8

Fuel cells were prepared in the same manner as in Example 5, except thatmetal catalysts of Example 2, Example 3 and Example 4, respectively,were used instead of the metal catalyst of Example 1.

The current-voltage characteristics (I-V) of the fuel cells wereexamined and the results are shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, PA200, PA400,PA1000 and PA2200 are the results for Example 5, Example 6, Example 7,and Example 8, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 3, the fuel cell that uses an electrode that had adoping level of 200 mol % phosphoric acid based on 100 moles of theproton conductive material showed the best performance at 0.549 V at acurrent density of 0.3 A/cm². FIG. 3 shows that the higher the dopinglevel of phosphoric acid, the lower the performance of the fuel cell inthe gas diffusion is controlled region.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variation can be made in the present invention withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it isintended that the present invention cover the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for preparing an electrode, comprising:mixing a metal catalyst comprising a conductive catalyst material and aproton conductive material coating layer formed on the surface of theconductive catalyst material with a hydrophobic binder and a solvent, toobtain a catalyst layer forming composition; and coating the catalystlayer forming composition on an electrode support and drying thecatalyst layer forming composition.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising treating the electrode with an acid.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the acid is phosphoric acid and the concentration of the acidis about 200 mol % to about 750 mol % based on 100 moles of the protonconductive material.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the hydrophobicbinder is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fluorinated ethylenepropylene (FEP).
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the concentration ofthe hydrophobic binder is about 1 wt % to about 40 wt % based on thetotal weight of the metal catalyst.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe drying is carried out at about 60° C. to about 150° C.
 7. A fuelcell comprising the electrode prepared according to the method of claim1.